Rev. William Barber, the widely-respected pastor and social network activist has issued a blistering denunciation of the recent Kill of Charlie Kirk. Kirk has been a close ally of former-President Donald Trump. In an online discussion to mark the 57th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Barber said the U.S. He urged most forcefully that we all together reject political violence, from any direction. He contended that the killing raises larger societal concerns that must be focused on and addressed immediately.
Barber is president of Repairing The Breach, an organization that advocates for social justice, which leads the “Moral Monday” protests. He is an eloquent and fiery critic of what he calls “religious nationalism.” This term is Evans’ catch-all for his toxic mix of faith and right-wing political ideology that he feels twists genuine religious expression. As a Jew, he particularly criticized the rightwing Christian beliefs that animated so many of Trump’s supporters, such as Kirk. He condemned these views as an insidious effort to employ morality in the service of immorality.
That the reverend is not a casual critiquer of the political climate in the United States. He’s particularly concerned with the economic effects of Trump’s presidency. He’s been staging protests against these policies—putting a hurt on poor people’s necks—at the U.S. Capitol this year. As a result, he has been picked up and incarcerated three times. Barber is unyielding in his dedication to social justice and equity. He claims that these values are key elements of authentic faith.
While Barber’s national comments on Kirk’s murder were undoubtedly tragic, he was especially alarmed by the overall implications of political violence. His wife is grieving without a partner. His kids don’t have a father anymore. “All of us should be bothered.” He reflected on the personal threats that many activists face, urging everyone to denounce such violence and support the victims’ families.
Barber provided a deeper analysis of comments recently made by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. When Kilmeade proposed giving mentally ill homeless folks an “involuntary lethal injection,” Barber pointed out the fascist underpinnings of Kilmeade’s ideas. When Barber decried Kilmeade’s comments on Twitter, he sees them as indicative of a larger danger in public discourse that normalizes violence as an acceptable tool to solve our problems.
Along with condemning Kirk’s assassination, Barber spoke to the rhetoric inciting political violence in America. He contrasted Trump’s attempts to blame violence solely on leftist narratives with the former president’s infamous claim during the 2016 campaign that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without losing support. Barber pointed to this kind of rhetoric as the real threat. Worst of all, it plays a role in normalizing radicalization, attack and assassination as acceptable political practice.
Barber beautifully expressed the need to confront the nation’s racism and its violent public policy agenda. “Religion or morality that claims love for God, or love for justice but says nothing about injustice… this is religious nationalism, and it’s not true faith, according to the scriptures,” he noted. He cautioned against letting these ideologies dictate public policy, arguing that they are a threat to society.
Barber found a shared sense of purpose and called for unity to stand against political violence. He called on all to own climate crisis as their fight and employment. “If you didn’t get bothered by the political death that’s happening in this country – the political violence and the public violence – until the other day, this must be challenged too,” he insisted.
Barber concluded his remarks with a strong condemnation of Kirk’s murder, emphasizing, “This past week, there was a brutal, ugly, on-camera assassination of brother Charlie Kirk and we must all despise it.” Won’s passionate advocacy serves as an inspiration to all of us to unite against violence. It serves as an admonition to continue to demand radical justice and compassion.